Yarn finger selection mechanism



Oct. 29, 1968 R. ABRAMS YARN FINGER SELECTION MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 1, 1966 emmu 62 QNN GZJsGZJ Oct. 29, 1968 R. ABRAMs 3,407,631

YARN FINGER SELECTION MECHANISM Filed April 1, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 N VEN TOR.

fiadalf Jim/12.5,

United States Patent YARN FINGER SELECTION MECHANISM Rudolf Abrams, Boyertown, Pa., assignor to Great American Knitting Mills, Inc., Bechtelsville, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 1, 1966, Ser. No. 539,395

. 2 Claims. (Cl. 66138) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The knitting machine yarn fingers are operated'by a yarn finger control drum which in turn is controlled by a main pattern drum and an auxiliary mechanism for imparting movement to the yarn finger control drum intermittently and independently of the movement imparted thereto by the main pattern drum.

This invention relates to mechanism for control of yarn fingers in circular knitting machines.

In recent years, yarn finger selection drums have found increasing popularity as a means of controlling the activation and deactivation of yarn feeding fingers. These devices are mounted adjacent the fingers and are equipped with circumferentially arranged pins which engage the fingers to take them out of action.

In the past, yarn finger control drums have been retated by cams on a second drum mounted on the machine at approximately the same level as the yarn finger control drum. Although this arrangement is operable, it has substantial drawbacks. In order to understand the latter and to provide a backgroundfor understanding the present invention, reference will now be made to a typical arrangement of yarn finger control drums, namely, that shown in US. Patent 3,136,145.

In the 145 patent each yarn finger is controlled by pins or button displaced in selected holes arranged in a circumferential row about the circumference of a rotatable yarn finger control drum. The rotation of such drums is controlled by a pattern drum. The pins or buttons effect raising and lowering of the yarn feed fingers to take a given yarn out of action while introducing another yarn into action at the desired time in the knitting cycle. When each yarn finger carries a yarn of different color, the timed activation of certain yarn fingers and the deactivation of other yarn fingers at a station produces a pattern, as is well understood in the art.

'The yarnfinger control drums 409 and 4090 for the No. l and No. 4- Feeds, respectively, are each equipped with a twelve-tooth ratchet wheel which is shogged by a pawl actuated by cams on the left main control drum L-6.

Drum L-6 rotates only once per knitting cycle and, since it carries only six cams for each ratchet wheel, the yarn finger control drums 409 and 4090 are advanced only six times per cycle, i.e. through only half a revolution per cycle. A yarn finger which is controlled by pins on one of said drums 409 or 40% can thus be manipulated, i.e., either raised or lowered, a maximum of six times per cycle.

The yarn finger control drums for the No. 2 and No. 3

Feeds are identified as 409a and 40% in the l patent and each is equipped with a twelve-tooth ratchet wheel also. These ratchet wheels are shogged by a pawl which is actuated by cams on the right main control drum R-6. Thedrum R-6 carries twelve cams for each pawl. Since drum R-6-rotates once per cycle, yarn finger control drums are shogged twelve times per. cycle, i.e., through one complete revolution per cycle. Thus, a yarn finger controlled by one of the drums 409a or 40% can be manipulated a maximum of twelve times per cycle.

The limited number ofmanipulations possible for a 3,407,631 Patented Oct. 29, 1968 given yarn finger using the above arrangement is undesirably small because only patterns of limited complexity can be produced. In order to provide for patterns for far greater complexity, it might, at first, appear that this could be achieved merely by increasing the number of cams on drums L-6 and R-6. However, there is only limited space about the circumference of drums L-6 and R-6 and it is, therefore, not possible to increase significantly the number of cams on such drums.

The primary object of this invention is to provide means for producing highly complex patterns with knitting machines of the circular type.

It is a more specific object of this invention to produce very complex patterns through novel meansfor selectively controlling the movement of rotatable yarn finger control drums.

Another important and even more specific object of the present invention is to provide means for increasing the number of yarn changes per cycle in knitting machines of the type shown in the patent to make possible the production of patterns far more complex and variegated than can be produced by apparatus built strictly in accordance with said patent.

To achieve the foregoing objects, I utilize an auxiliary control for the control of yarn finger control drums. I also utilize means for activating this auxiliary means whereby the control of the yarn finger control drum is transferred from the usual main control drum to the auxiliary control whenever highly complex pattern eifects are desired during the knitting cycle.

For a more complete understanding of additional advantages and features of my invention, reference is made to the detailed description which follows and to the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view taken from above the left front corner of the top base plate of a knitting machine of the type shown in US. Patent 3,136,145, wherein only a part of the base plate is shown and many other parts are omitted for clarity, and wherein the trick drum and associated components are illustrated somewhat schematically.

FIG. 2 is an elevational view, partly in section taken along lines 11-11 of FIG. 1 showing details of part of the auxiliary control of this invention.

My invention is illustrated adapted to the knitting machine disclosed in U.S. Patent 3,136,l45 and only those features of which are necessary to an understanding of the present invention are shown. For convenience, features which are common to the l45 patent are identified by the same reference numerals as used in said patent. Features which are not common to the 145 patent are indicated by primed numbers herein.

FIG. 1 is a view similar to FIG. 2 of the 145 patent. However, as indicated, many parts shown in said patent are omitted for clarity, including the No. 2 and No. 3 Feeds and associated controls.

In FIG. 1, there is depicted a portion of the top plat form 32 above which is the top supporting plate 279 which surrounds the needle cylinder 262. Mounted upon plate 279 are the No. 1 and No, 4 Feeds.

The mechanism at the No. l and No. 4 Feeds are the same, except as hereafter noted, as that shown in the 145 patent. Thus, at Feed No. 1, a pair of posts 400, 401 is mounted upon supporting plate 279. An arm 402 having a bifurcated end to enable the same to be adjusted vertically on post 400 is clamped to the post by a bolt 403. A similar arm 404 is clamped to post 401. A shaft 406 is is secured to the solid ends of arms 402 and 404. A yarn finger control drum 409 is rotatably mounted upon the shaft 406 and is provided with six circumferentially extending rows of threaded holes, each row having twentyfour holes and adapted to have pins mounted in selected holes thereof. The pins or buttons in each of the first five rows are disposed so as to effect raising of an adjacent yarn feed finger to take a yarn out of action. The pins in the sixth row operate a synchronizing bar 40', as will be explained. In the '145 patent, only four rows per drum are used.

A ratchet wheel 418 is secured to one side of drum 409. In contrast to the '145 patent, however, which discloses a twelve-tooth wheel, the ratchet wheel 418 shown herein has twenty-four teeth. A lever 419 is rotatably mounted upon shaft 406 and is held in engagement with the outer side of wheel 418 by a collar 420. Lever 419 carries a pin upon which a pawl 422 is mounted for engaging ratchet wheel 418 to impart intermittent rotary movement to the drum 409. A spring 423 is connected at one end thereof by a pin 424 to pawl 422 and its other end is connected by a pin 424a to the lever 419.

Mounted between cylinder 262 and drum 409 is a yarn finger supporting block 431 having a shaft 433 upon which four yarn fingers, such as finger F-l visible in FIGURE 1, are pivotally mounted. Block 431 also supports a yarn guide bracket 434 having eyelets for the individual yarns. In the manner of the '145 patent, each yarn finger is constantly urged downwardly toward the needles by a tension spring, and a lever is provided to raise each finger to the inactive position when the end of the lever is engaged by one of the pins on drum 409. These details are fully described in the '145 patent and are, accordingly, not shown herein.

The control mechanism for the drum 409 at the No. 1 Feed comprises a link 446, one end of which is connected to lever 419 and the other end connected to a bell crank 446a pivotally mounted on post 400. A second link 446b connects bell crank 446a to a second bell crank 446a pivotally mounted in a slotted bracket 4462, and a third link 446 connects bell crank 4460 to a third bell crank 446g pivotally mounted in a slotted bracket 4461'. The opposite end of hell crank 446g is an inturned portion adapted to be engaged by cams 446 projecting from drum L-6. A spring 446k, having one end connected to hell crank 446g and its other end connected to a post 460, acts upon crank 446g to urge the inturned end thereof toward drum L-6. From the foregoing, it is evident that so long as the inturned end of bell crank 446g is maintained closely adjacent the surface of drum L-6, the cams 446j on the drum will successively engage the bell crank 446g and actuate lever 419 to cause pawl 422 to turn the ratchet wheel.

The control mechanism described thus far is substantially in accordance with that shown in the '145 patent. However, as previously mentioned, since drum L-6 revolves only once per cycle, the maximum number (6) of yarn changes per finger which can be effected by drum L-6 alone is undesirably small. In order to provide patterns of greater complexity, I have invented auxiliary control means for the control of the yarn finger control drums 409 and 4090. It will be understood that one or more such auxiliary control means can be provided to control the yarn finger control drums at other feeding stations, such as the Nos. 2 and 3 stations which are shown in the '145 patent but omitted for clarity here.

Briefly described, the auxiliary control means includes the use of a trick or selector drum to control the rotational advance of the yarn finger control drum. Since, in the case of current models of the machine shown in the '145 patent, the selector drums revolve twice per cycle and are fitted with one hundred fifty jacks or trick bars, it is possible to obtain three hundred picks per cycle. This is in contrast to the drums L-6 and R-6 which are equipped with six and twelve cams, respectively.

As will be described in detail, the yarn finger control drums for the No. 1 and No. 4 Feeds are controlled by the No. 1 left forward trick drum of the '145 patent. The yarn finger control drums for the No. 2 and No. 3 Feeds are controlled by the right forward trick drum of said patent. Since the mechanism for the latter is the same as the former, only the former will be described in detail.

As indicated, an important part of the auxiliary control mechanism is the trick drum assembly lLF located on the left front of No. l deck of the machine shown in the '145 patent. This assembly includes a drum 633 which is rotatably mounted upon a shaft 630. In the present case, there are one hundred fifty vertical slots 635 arranged circumferentially about the outer periphery of drum 633 with a bar or trick jack 642 disposed in each slot. The jacks 642 are notched near their upper ends and are retained in their associated slots by a garter spring 643 embracing said notches. Each jack 642 is originally provided with plurality of lugs 644, selected ones of which can be broken off to set a desired pattern.

The timing mechanism for the drum 633 comprises a bar 671 fixed at one end to the upper end of shaft 630 and having its other end connected to one end of a link 672 by a bolt 673. A lever 675 is pivotally connected to link 672 at a point medially of its length by a pivot bolt 676. A detent 677 is secured to the underside of lever 675 by a bolt 678.

So far described, the timing mechanism is substantially the same as that shown in the '145 patent. However, in the '145 patent the end of detent 677 nearest the trick drum 633 is arranged to enter a timing space provided by breaking off two of the uppermost lugs 644 above spring 643 to positively stop the trick drum against rotation at a given time in the cycle. In the present invention, however, the uppermost lugs (here identified as 644a) are utilized for a different purpose. As a result, the mechanism has been modified by raising detent 677 enough to engage a slot 639a cut into the periphery of upper plate 639 of the drum to provide the braking action referred to the above.

The trick drum ratchet wheel 637 for turning the drum is adapted to be intermittently rotated by a pawl 679 mounted on a rod 680 which is oscillated in the manner described in the patent. As in the '145 patent, lever 675 carries a depending pin 681 disposed adjacent the free end of the rod 680. The pin 681 is adapted to engage said rod 680 to move the pawl 679 away from the ratchet 637 to thereby prevent the rod 680 from actuating the trick drum when the detent 677 enters the slot 639a. Actuation of the lever 675 to permit the detent 677 to engage slot 639a and act as a timing device to stop the drum 633 is effected through a link 682. The operation of link 682 to control timing detent 677 and the pin 681 for shifting pawl 679 is governed by drum L-1, as is described in detail in the '145 patent.

As previously indicated, the upper butts 644a of the trick jacks 644 are employed in a novel manner and serve to control the operation of the auxiliary yarn finger drum control. Thus, selected butts are broken off; the remaining butts, as exemplified by butt 644a of the single trick jack 644 shown in FIG. 1, engage a finger 1a of a lever 1' which is pivotally mounted upon a post 2'. The opposite end of lever 1 is attached to one end of the inner wire 3' of a Bowden wire 4. The other end of the wire 3' is attached to the bottom of a U-shaped bracket 4a. One leg of bracket 4a is connected to a lever 5' pivotally mounted upon one end of shaft 6' of a tripping assembly, generally designated 7. The other le of bracket 4a is connected to a spring 8 which is attached to an upstanding bracket 9 secured to the vertical side plate 10' of the tripping assembly 7.

The opposite end of lever 5 carries a pin 11' upon which a pawl 12' is mounted for actuation of a sixteentooth ratchet wheel 13' secured to shaft 6. As will be understood, when lever 1a is moved by a butt 644a on the trick drum lLF, the consequent retraction of wire 3 of Bowden wire 4' pulls bracket 4a down toward base plate 32. The downward movement of bracket 4a rotates lever 5' clockwise and pawl 12', urged inwardly by a leaf spring 14, shogs ratchet 13 in the same direction.

The shogging of ratchet 13 turns shaft 6' and a disc 15' mounted on said shaft on the opposite side of side plate 10'. Disc has sixteen circumferentially located equally spaced holes 16' into which sixteen pins 17' are force-v fitted.

A pivot rod 18, secured to side plate 10' at a point above and to the left of shaft 6', extends across to the approximate center of the spindle-like structure formed by pins 17 and provides pivotal support for a trip lever 19'. Lever 19' has a sloping nose 20' which is arranged to fit between adjacent pins 17' when lever 19 is horizontal. A spring 21', having its upper end attached to a post 2.1a upstanding on plate 10 and its lower end attached to lever 19 behind the pivot point, urges lever 19' in a clockwise direction so that its nose 20 presses down upon one of the pins 17'. When the disc 15' is held stationary, the nose 20' is held in this position by a pin and, consequentially, lever 19' is maintained horizontal.

The upper edge of lever19, behind the pivot point carries a slot 22 for the reception of a trip finger 23 which is an extension of an auxiliary control lever 24 pivotally supported on a post 25. As shown in FIG. 1, the end of the main arm of lever 24 nearest the assembly 7. is fitted with a plate 2411 through which an adjustment screw 24b is threaded. A spring 240' is connected to lever 24' and serves to urge it in a counterclockwise direction when viewed from the top, i.e., the finger 23' and the plate 24a are urged toward the approximate center ofthe machine by spring 240'.

Lever 24 is constantly urged in a clockwise direction by one end 26a of a bell crank lever 26 which is pivotally mounted on a post 27' adjacent drum L-6. As shown in FIG. 1, end 26a engages the screw 24b and the counterclockwise force of arm 26a tends to move finger 23' in a direction out over the tip or tail of lever 19. The other end 26b of lever 26 isengaged by a pin 28' affixed to the inturned end of bell crank lever 446g. As heretofore explained, aspring 446k tends to urge the inturned end of lever 446g toward drum L-6 and, through pin 28' bearing against lever 26', the force of spring 446k is transmitted to lever 26'.

When finger 2.3 is in slot 22' of trip lever 19, finger 23' is prevented from moving out over the end of lever 19' and thus bell crank lever 26' is held in a fixed position as determined by the adjustment of screw 24b on lever 24'. Preferably, screw 24b is adjusted so that lever 26', acting on pin 28', maintains the inturned end of lever 446g about 5 of an inch away from the surface of drum L-6. It will be understood that the holding action of finger 23' in slot 22 is sufficient to overcome the pulling force of spring 446k.

However, when finger 23, of auxiliary control lever 24 is released from slot 22', the force exerted by spring 446k is longer counteracted, and tail 23 is swung out over the tail of trip lever 19 by the action of lever 26'. The movement of lever 26' permits bell crank 446g to move toward drum L-6 under the influence of spring 446k. Al though this movement only covers about of an inch, i.e., the distance between the inturned tip of lever 446g and the surface of drum L-6, this movement is enough to cause pawl 422 to advance ratchet 418 of yarn finger control drum 409.

When pawl 12 of the auxiliary control mechanism advances ratchet 13', the pins on disc 15' are rotated clockwise and the pin upon which nose 20 of lever 19' rests raises nose 20' and lever 19' is moved counterclockwise. As the tail of lever 19 is thus lowered, finger 23" is released. Thus, by the action already described, each rotational movement of disc 15' causes an advance of the yarn control drum 409. Depending on the number of trick drum jacks 644a which are available to engage lever 1a in a given time, the yarn finger control drum 409' is advanced.

As shown in FIG. 1, the end of lever 24' remote from the assembly 7' is displaced closely adjacent the top of a resetting control disc 29 which is secured to a shaft 30' for a rotation therewith. Shaft 30 is rotated continuously by means of a chain 31' connecting a sprocket 32' on shaft 30' and a sprocket 33' on the quarter turn shaft 176 of the machine. There is also provided an idler tension generally indicated as 34'.

By the foregoing means, disc 29' is rotated continuously in .a counterclockwise direction. When .fin ger, 23 of lever 24 is in slot 22 of trip lever 19", a roller 35' on the top of the disc 29' lightly strikes the adjacent end of lever 24'. The corresponding movement of finger '23 is slight and is less than the dimension of slot 22' and finger 23' remains within the slot. However, when finger 23 swings out over the tail of lever 19', the remote end of lever 24 moves inwardlytoward the center of disc 29' and roller 35' strikes the displaced end of lever 24' and urges lever 24 in a counterclockwise direction so that finger 23' once again is moved over the sloping tail of lever 19' and into slot 22'. It will be understood, of course, that immediately after trip lever 19' is rotated by the movement of disc 15, it is brought back to the horizontal position by spring 21 and is retained in a horizontal position by the next succeeding pin 17' on disc 15.

The above described resetting of lever 24' serves to return lever 26 into its original position so that it holds bell crank lever 446g once again of an inch away from the surface of control drum L-6.

In the present invention, yarn finger control drum 409 has an additional row of holes around the perimeter of the drum remote from the ratchet wheel 418. These holes are provided with buttons or pins as desired. The purpose of the latter is to engage the depending tip 36' of a lever 37 which is pivoted on a brace 38 at 39'. As shown in FIG. 1, the end of lever 37' remote from the pivot 39 carries a pin 40' which extends across the drum 409 and is adapted to engage into a depression 4l' in plate 419 which carries pawl 422. A spring 42" serves to maintain the depending tip 36' of lever 37 normally against the surface of drum 409. Thus, as long as no button is encountered, pin 40 is maintained in the groove 41' of plate 419.

The purpose of the foregoing arrangement is to synchronize the movement of pawl 422 with trick drum 633 when the auxiliary control mechanism is in operation. More specifically, the dimension of lever 419 for pawl 422 is such that when the lever 419 is moved by the linkage 446b, pawl 422 is moved a distance covering two teeth of ratchet wheel 418. However, when the auxiliary control mechanism is activated, it is desirable-to have ratchet wheel 418 move the distance of only one tooth for each shogging movement caused by the rotation of ratchet 13 of the auxiliary control mechanism. During this period, no pins are provided under tip 36' of lever 37' and pin 40' is thus permitted to enter the groove in lever 419. Pin 40 acts as a brake on the movement of lever 419 so that pawl '422 covers only the distance of one tooth 'when lever 419 is moved by linkage 446.

The tripping assembly 7' and resetting lever 24 are also utilized for the auxiliary control of the yarn finger control drum 409c through a pin 43 connecting bell crank lever 26 to lever 449g of the linkage 449 which actuates pawl 4220 of said drum 309c, This auxiliary control functions as described above in connection with yarn finger control drum 409 of the No. 1 Feed and hence need not be described in further detail.

It is also to be clearly understood that the terms and expressions used herein are employed as terms of descrip tion, and not of limitation, and that there is no intention in using such terms and expressions to exclude any equivalents of the apparatus described. It is also to be clearly understood that what is specifically shown and described herein represents a preferred embodiment only of the invention, and that various changes and equivalents in addition to those mentioned may be resorted to without departing from the principles of the invention or the scope of the claims hereof. Accordingly, it is intended to claim the present invention broadly, as well as specifically, as indicated in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim:

1. In a circular knitting machine having a needle cylinder; at least one yarn feeding station adjacent the cylinder including a plurality of yarn fingers movable from active to inactive position; a rotatable yarn finger control drum mounted adjacent said fingers having projections at selected locations about its periphery operative to move said fingers to one of said positions as the drum is rotated; a ratchet aflixed to said drum for rotation therewith; a pawl mounted adjacent said ratchet and operable to advance said ratchet to thereby rotate said drum; and main yarn finger control drum means including a rotatable main control drum having cams about its periphery;

a primary bell crank pivotally mounted adjacent said main control drum having one arm disposed in the path of said cams whereby upon rotation of said main control drum the cams move said bell crank;

primary linkage means connecting said primary bell crank to said pawl whereby movement of the primary bell crank causes said pawl to advance said ratchet;

the improvement comprising auxiliary control means for automatically imparting selected intermittent rotary movement to said yarn finger control drum including, in combination:

(a) a pivotally mounted auxiliary bell crank adapted to engage said primary bell crank, said auxiliary crank being movable from an inactive position to an active position whereby said primary bell crank is engaged and is correspondingly moved to cause said pawl to advance said ratchet,

(b) a pivotally mounted auxiliary control lever movable from an inactive position to an active position and operative, during such movement, to move the auxiliary crank from its inactive to its active position,

(c) a movable trip lever operative while at a holding position to engage and hold said auxiliary control lever in its inactive position, said trip lever being movable to a release position whereby said auxiliary control lever is released for movement to its active position,

((1) trip lever control means operatively connected to said trip lever for moving said lever to its release position, and for holding said lever in its holding position,

(e) a rotatable trick drum having a plurality of trick jacks about its circumference,

(f) butts on selected ones of said trick jacks operative to successively actuate said trip lever control means to move said lever to its release position.

2. In a circular knitting machine having a plurality of yarn fingers, a rotatable yarn finger drum for selectively activating said fingers, means for controlling the rotational motion of said yarn finger drum comprising:

(a) a rotatable trick drum having a complement of trick jacks about its circumference,

(b) butts on selected jacks,

(c) a lever mounted adjacent said trick drum and movable when engaged by said butts on said selected jacks as the trick drum rotates,

(d) a bowden wire connected to said lever and movable therewith,

(e) a pawl connected to said bowden wire and movable therewith,

(f) a ratchet adjacent to said pawl and movable in response to movement of said pawl,

(g) a disk connected to said ratchet and movable therewith, said disk having a plurality of pins arranged substantially in a circular series projecting from one side thereof,

(b) a trip lever pivotally mounted adjacent said pins, said trip lever having a nose at one end adapted to be held between said pins when said pins are stationary; said trip lever having a notch adjacent its other end,

(i) a spring attached to said trip lever for moving said trip lever when the nose thereof is released from between said pins when said pins move as said disk rotates,

(j) a pivotally mounted auxiliary lever having a portion adapted to be engaged and retained in said notch of said trip lever,

(k) means for moving said auxiliary lever when said trip lever is moved to the extent that the auxiliary lever is released from said notch, and

(1) means operatively connecting said auxiliary lever to said yarn finger drum for transmitting motion of said auxiliary lever to rotate said drum.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,194,831 8/1916 Fisher 66138 3,008,316 11/1961 Levin 66-138 3,102,405 9/1963 Fregeolle 66-438 FOREIGN PATENTS 779,894 7/ 1957 Great Britain. 425,146 9/1947 Italy.

ROBERT R. MACKEY, Primary Examiner. 

